Last Supper

Question 1

she is getting good and ready to renounce

Answer 1

‘renounce’ suggests that she is getting ready to abandon her boyfriend.
the narrative tone of the sentence suggests that this abandonment was forseeable

Question 2

sweet flesh

Answer 2

positive connotations of ‘sweet’ suggest that she enjoyed the physical/sexual side of the relationship
negative connotations of ‘flesh’ suggest that she never really felt any emotional connection towards him

Question 3

not just for lent. for / ever

Answer 3

lent is a period of time where you give up something you love usually for 40 days
she is stating here that the end of the relationship is permanent and that there is no going back

biblical reference to lent

Question 4

after all didn’t they always eat together rather more than rather well?

Answer 4

suggest relationship provided a lot of low-level pleasures rather than anything profound or long-lasting

Question 5

tearing foliage

Answer 5

angry and violent connotations of ‘tearing’ show anger towards her partner

Question 6

the table she’s made ( and oh yes now will have to lie on)

Answer 6

play on ‘you’ve made your bed now you have to lie in it’
suggests her decision is made and she will have to face the consequences

this continues the idea of permanence

parenthesis of ‘(and oh yes now will have to lie on)’ is a knowing aside, suggesting having to live with the implications/consequences of decisions made.

Question 7

cooked goose

Answer 7

play on ‘his goose is cooked’
shows that his fate is sealed

Question 8

he could be depended on to bring the bottle

Answer 8

suggest that he was generally unreliable unless it was something frivolous like alcohol

Question 9

betrayal with a kiss

Answer 9

biblical reference to Judas kissing Jesus to show the romans it was Jesus
he is being compared to Judas which suggests he is treacherous and unfaithful

Question 10

leftover hash

Answer 10

just as you fling together a hash - cheap, fast but far from classy meal
so too has the breakup sparked conversation between her friends

Question 11

when those three met again

Answer 11

reference to Macbeth’s witches
suggests plotting, sisterhood and continually toying with/ confusing men

Question 12

render from the bones

Answer 12

Just as boiling a carcass until all the meat and flavour has been extracted, the women will get every possible topic of conversation from the relationship

Question 13

something substantial, something extra tasty if not elegant

Answer 13

Echoes the reference to leftover hash- the conversation will be crude and enjoyable but not sophisticated or refined

Question 14

cackling around the cauldron

Answer 14

Back to Macbeth. Also could be a general comparison to witches suggesting the women are
heartless and cruel

Question 15

spitting out the gristlier bits
of his giblets

Answer 15

Talking (‘spitting’) about the worst things the man has done ‘gristlier bits of his giblets’

Question 16

gnawing on the knucklebone

Answer 16

Persistent, lengthy and far from polite way to get every last bit of meat/enjoyment from the
bone/conversation

Question 17

petit -gout mouthfuls of reported speech

Answer 17

Enjoying everything discussing everything the man has said like
enjoying small flavoursome portions of food - petit-gouts’

Question 18

That’s rich!

Answer 18

Dual meaning: ‘rich’ enjoyable but hard to stomach like rich
food; and ‘That’s rich’ meaning something is outrageous, ironic or hypocritical

Question 19

munching the lies, fat and sizzling as sausages.

Answer 19

Repeated ‘s’ sound (sibilance) sounds like sizzling sausages. Also creates a snake-like tone of menace. ‘Sausage’ could be seen as a crude phallic reference. By ‘munching the lies’ they are emasculating the man

suggests the women take delight in their character assassination/their spreading of lies and rumours.

Question 20

‘last treat’

Answer 20

introduces the religious imagery linked to the Last Supper and the idea of betrayal.

Question 21

‘ tearing foliage, scrambling
the salad’

Answer 21

violence of the language echoes the anger she now feels towards him.

Question 22

‘silverware’

Answer 22

continues reference to the Last Supper with the price of betrayal.

Question 23

‘gorged on truth’

Answer 23

suggests the self-satisfaction they feel in revealing the flaws of the ex-partner.

Question 24

‘preening (like corbies)’

Answer 24

suggests a sense of their superiority/smugness.

Question 25

corbies’

Answer 25

friends who have feasted on the ‘dead relationship’ compared to crows who eat carrion.

Question 26

‘go hunting again’

Answer 26

suggests the predatory nature of the group.